Bound To Stay Bound

Bulletin for the Center... - 03/01/2008 Eldest daughter and frequent thorn in the side of Theodore Roosevelt, Alice Roosevelt, with her propensity for “eating up the world” and her tomboyish, envelope-pushing ways, could clearly be a liability for a politically ambitious father. Here Kerley reviews some of Alice’s flamboyant activities, from gallivanting through the D.C. streets at night and joining an all-boys club, to driving a runabout and betting on horses. The text is generally limited to a freewheeling litany of Alice’s antics, with any serious discussion of her relationship with her famous father consigned to concluding notes. Moreover, many of Alice’s proclivities—resistance to formal education; a heartfelt wish to wear pants rather than skirts; a love of picnics, make-believe, and pioneer stories—may strike modern listeners as pretty tame business. Fotheringham’s digital illustrations, which follow Alice from gamin to grownup, slyly caricature an often exasperated and occasionally proud T. R.; compositions dominated by dynamic curves and strong diagonal lines (and sometimes even crisscrossed by dotted lines following Alice’s peripatetic path) generate a sense of nonstop action. Peeking behind the White House door at its child residents is always a kid-pleasing enterprise, and stories of spirited Alice may set listeners to scanning the current political horizon for equally fascinating presidential offspring. EB - Copyright 2008 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.

School Library Journal - 03/01/2008 Gr 2-4-Kerley brings another historical figure to life. Alice Lee Roosevelt was President Theodore Roosevelt's only child by his first wife, who died two days after her birth. From the start, Alice's behavior was unconventional, and that pattern was to continue throughout her colorful life. Kerley's text gallops along with a vitality to match her subject's antics, as the girl greets White House visitors accompanied by her pet snake, refuses to let leg braces cramp her style, dives fully clothed into a ship's swimming pool, and also earns her place in history as one of her father's trusted advisers. Fotheringham's digitally rendered, retro-style illustrations are a superb match for the text. The energy in his pictures is palpable as when Alice is turned loose in her father's library and five Alices dart about followed by lines that trace her frenetic path as she reads eclectically and voraciously. The illustrations not only enhance but are frequently the source of humor: "Alice tried to be helpful. She watched her younger brothers and sister so her stepmother could get some rest." The picture depicts Alice and her siblings careening down the White House stairs on sleds. Alice blue, the color named after her eyes, swirls throughout in a subtle tribute. This book provides a fascinating glimpse into both a bygone era and one of its more interesting denizens as well as a surefire antidote for any child who thinks that historical figures are boring.-Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information. - Copyright 2008 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 01/01/2008 *Starred Review* Irrepressible Alice Roosevelt gets a treatment every bit as attractive and exuberant as she was. The daughter of Theodore Roosevelt (and a mother who died soon after childbirth), Alice had a joie de vivre that she called “eating up the world.” This energy exhibited itself in her joining an all-boys club, tramping around Washington, D.C., and, later, taking off on around-the-world adventures. Kerley’s text has the same rambunctious spirit as its subject, grabbing readers from the first line: “Theodore Roosevelt had a small problem.” Children will be impressed with the way Alice took control of her life: eschewing formal schooling, she convinced T. R. to “let her loose in his library.” The large format gives Fotheringham, in his debut, plenty of room for spectacular art, which includes use of digital media. In almost every picture, Alice is running, motoring, racing. One clever spread shows what it was like to be a media princess: newspaper pages fly across the spread, obscuring Alice. There are a few flaws. Kids, who have a shaky sense of history, would have benefited from a time line, and quotes are barely sourced. These are small points, though, in an otherwise invigorating look at larger-than-life Alice. An afterword is appended. - Copyright 2008 Booklist.

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